National Security & Foreign Affairs

Through our National Security & Foreign Affairs (NSFA) program, we present our views to government agencies on issues ranging from quality of life improvements for service members to promoting democracy abroad to the full accounting of those missing in action.

The NSFA program articulates a national security and foreign affairs policy that calls for a strong national defense and quality of life improvements for military personnel, retirees, and their families; guarantees our integrity as a nation; promotes our democratic ideals and interests abroad; and seeks the fullest possible accounting of all military service members from all wars. This includes foreign travel and fact-finding trips by national officers and staff to gain firsthand knowledge of military and diplomatic operations around the world and across the country. These missions further serve to validate the requirement to pursue key issues of concern to our military forces and national interests abroad.

While the program is developed by the NSFA Committee and the POW/MIA Subcommittee, the program's mandates are derived from the resolutions adopted by the delegates to the VFW National Convention each year.

The Principles of our NSFA Program:

Military Affairs

We are steadfast in our commitment to improve the quality of life for all active military and Reserve Component members and their families. America's service members deserve base pay equity with their private sector counterparts, and increased funding is a must to upgrade or replace the infrastructure of housing, recreation and working facilities.

The nature of how the United States utilizes the guard and reserve has changed considerably over the last decade. The U.S. no longer has a force in strategic reserve. The Reserve Component is considered an operational force and is shouldering more of the national security burden with frequent mobilizations and deployments. The VFW is increasing its efforts to provide guard and reserve members with benefits and entitlements equal to their participation and contribution to U.S. national security. We feel Congress must lower the Reserve Component retirement pay age to 55 and provide an affordable premium based healthcare insurance option to all members and their families.

POW/MIA

We will not rest until we achieve the fullest possible accounting of all missing American military service members from all wars.

The numbers of unaccounted-for personnel are staggering, currently 83,000, and the length of time since they have been lost is extensive, going back to World War II. Many will never be recovered because the loss occurred over deep water, were due to catastrophic explosions, or eyewitnesses to the incidents have long since passed, but every new identification helps bring closure to one more American family, and is one step closer to achieving the fullest possible accounting of our missing. It is also a re-commitment to those serving in uniform today that America will bring you home.

We encourage the U.S. government to continue its POW/MIA accounting efforts, and we are directly engaged with other nations and their veterans’ groups to urge their cooperation and assistance to obtain information about missing Americans. VFW national officers make annual trips to Pacific, Asian and European countries where they always meet with senior host-country officials to stress the importance of conducting investigation and recovery operations, as well as gaining access to documents and archival research facilities.

The VFW is the only veterans organization to return to Southeast Asia every year since 1991, to Russia since 2004, and now into China for nearly a decade. The VFW opens doors on a vet-to-vet level that makes us the envy of U.S. government politicians and bureaucrats who must follow a strict protocol.